Best Snake Restaurants in HK
Boa constricta for brunch?

[21/08/13]

Eating snake is something you can’t do in many cities, so make sure you don’t miss the opportunity in Hong Kong. It’s meant to increase your libido (Taipei’s snake alley is located next to the red light district for instance) while the meat tastes like… chicken. Poor old chicken, always having its identity stolen by cooler animals. Eating snake will leave you a better man, but even more importantly, you can add another chapter to the “weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten” conversation.

Where to begin? Well, Shia Wong Hip, on 170 Ap Liu Street in Sham Shui Po, is a good place to start. The 48-year-old establishment is run by Chau Ka Ling, who claims that eating snake cured her bad back. You might try a shot of snake bile mixed with snake alcohol while you’re at it, or perhaps a full snake banquet with dishes like snake skin casserole. As far as health goes, Chau says the more poisonous the snake is the bigger the benefits, but that sounds terrifying. And not very medical.

Another highly rated outlet is She Wong Lam at 13 Hillier Street in Sheung Wan. Having been in operation for over a century, the restaurant’s snake soup is guaranteed to be top notch. Otherwise, you can look at Se Wong Sun (10-12 Cross Street in Wan Chai) which sells various dishes including snake-meat claypot rice; and Se Wong Yee on 24 Percival Street, Causeway Bay. The latter is recommended by the Michelin Guide, but you’ve got to wonder how many snake meals they could have compared it to. Bet the Michelin officials were in and out of there in a flash.